Internet Broadway Database archive is the official database for Broadway theatre information. IBDB provides records of productions from the beginnings of New York theatre until today. Details include pertinent people involved as well as interesting facts and production statistics.

Im Guardian erschien am Mittwoch ein Artikel über die walisische Bangor University, die vorhat, "to sack eight of its 12 librarians because students can find the information they need on the internet". In einem "consultation document" wird als Begründung geliefert: "The support to the academic and student communities from the qualified subject librarians, whatever its contribution to the teaching and research roles of the institution, is hard to justify in value-for-money terms at a time when the process of literature searches is substantially deskilled by online bibliographical resources".

"Ms. Moon cared deeply about the image of the library and librarians and had even published two definitive articles, with footnotes and extensive bibliographies from the voluminous literature on the subject, in highly respected professional journals. She encouraged those who wore glasses to exchange them for contact lenses and to wear what she called 'personal power' clothing. 'Smile, smile,' she liked to exhort. 'Let the warmth of your inner librarian shine through.'" - Aus: Jo Dereske: Miss Zukas and the Island Murders. New York: Avon Books 1995, S. 5

Habe gerade eine interessante Neuerscheinung entdeckt: "The Image of Librarians in Cinema, 1917-1999" von Brenda und Ray Tevis, erschienen im Februar 2005 bei McFarland. Das Buch ist chronologisch geordnet und befasst sich mit der Darstellung von Bibliothekarinnen und Bibliothekaren in (vor allem amerikanischen und britischen) Filmen von der Stummfilmzeit bis ins 20. Jahrhundert.Aus der Beschreibung: "From its earliest days to the present, the onscreen image of the librarian has remained largely the same. A silent 1921 film set the precedent for two female librarian characters: a dowdy spinster wears glasses and a bun hairstyle, and an attractive young woman is overworked and underpaid. Silent films, however, employed a variety of characteristics for librarians, showed them at work on many different tasks, and featured them in a range of dramatic, romantic, and comedic situations. The sound era frequently exaggerated these characteristics and situations, strongly influencing the general image of librarians".

"Libraries are brothels for the mind. Which means that librarians are the madams, greeting punters, understanding their strange taste and needs, and pimping their books. That's rubbish, of course, but it does wonders for the image of librarians".

"In most libraries, there is as section of large-print books. The print is so large, in fact, that most of the text has to be removed. For example, in 100 Years of Solitude, you'll be lucky to get 40 Years of Moderate Loneliness."

"Western-educated librarians bring a variety of skills to Central and Eastern European libraries. We're trained in the latest technologies; we design web pages and digital libraries; we're unafraid of search engines, electronic databases, OCLC, and barcode readers; we understand the complexities of consortia. A lot of those things are new to many Central and Eastern European libraries, for which electricity and a supply of books may have been a more pressing problem in the not too distant past than accurate circulation statistics. They definitely have a need for people to help teach them how to build these skills or even help point out issues and concerns that they may not have thought about yet", schreibt Dallas Long in seinem Artikel "See the World - Be a Librarian!" auf liscareer.com. Und weiter: "Word got out fast that a western librarian was in town! (...) Not everyone I met or worked with spoke fluent English!" Oh nein!

"In the depths of the Great Depression, not a single public library in America closed its doors. Banks went under, farmers went bankrupt, millions of people were out of work and out of luck - but the American public clung to its libraries, not only because of their inherent value to our society, but also because they are symbols of community strength and hope. How lame, then, to see public officials today - from George W. Bush to city council members - reaching for the budget axe to whack library funding, forcing branches to close, valuable services to be eliminated, and hours to be cut".Zitat aus: Jim Hightower: "Whacking Libraries". In: AlterNet, 2. Februar 2005.